Giant Ocean Wharf.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7826, 19 May 1905, Page 4

Giant Ocean Wharf.

Brought forward by Captain Wells, late Chief Officer of the London Eire Brigade, an important scheme for the |erection of a new wharf on the jThames was recently agreed to bv the Thames Conservators.

The proposal, broadly put, is to establish at Long Reach, on the south side of the river, a timber quay a mile and a quarter long and sixty feet wide, to which vessels •will have; access whether at high or low tide, to ship or unload cargo. On the other side of the quay there will be ten transport sheds 300 feet long by ten ty feet wide for the temporary' storing of goods, an* between the sheds there will be space for about 100 barges. l.'poh : the quay itself will be erected powerful cranes on lines to Ire used for the purpose of passing merchandise from ship to lighter or vice versa. Ten of the largest ships afloat will be able to unload at the same Wme, and if the barges are not present to take in cargo it can be transferred direct to the sheds' for subsequent transhipment. The scheme has been under consideration fdY the past five years, plans haviTbcen drawn up and approved.cslimates for carrying- out the work, supplying the latest and most up-to-date- machinery, have been obtained, and it is hoped that the proposal will be an accomplished fact in 1907, or. at the latest, at the beginning of 1908.

The idea originated in the mind of a well-known London shipper who has always advocated that the port of London should be made free. Tin's scheme, he maintains, will be the first stop towarls bringing that about. He anticipates that no ships' dues will be necess'ary, as the small charges proposed to be made on goods will be sufficient to pay all expences and to give a reasonable return on capital.

The cost of constructing and thoroughly equipping the London Ocean Wharf will, it is stated, be well within a million pounds. The wharf will be eighteen miles from London and outside the County of London, and the freehold land acquired by the Company extends to Dartmouth, which is two miles away.—Daily Mail.